Life After the Rebellion
by Philocaly
Summary: The Rebellion ended years ago, and together, Katniss and Peeta have started a family. With their five-year-old and three-year-old, the Mellarks take off on a journey back through the Districts to visit old friends. When the trip takes an unexpected turn, will the family still be able to enjoy their outing?
1. Chapter 1

_This is my first fan fiction, so I am still getting used to using this part of ! I really hope you enjoy my first chapter, and please leave any constructive criticism or comments! Both are extremely helpful for me, and are much appreciated! Thank you for reading, and hopefully more chapters are to come! -Phily_

 **Chapter One**

• **Katniss** •

We both awake to the sounds of two children jumping on our bed, the universal symbol in our family that it's time to start the day. I turn my head to the left of me, where I meet those blue eyes. Peeta reaches for my hand, and we both share an exasperated sigh at the antics of our son and daughter. "Daddy! Daddy! Wake up!" Primrose, our five-year-old practically screams. She hops off the bed. "I'm going to the bakery, I'm going to the bakery," she chants as she dashes around the house. Today, Peeta wanted to bring her to the bakery, the Mellark Bakery, in order to teach her some of the things that his father taught him. I laugh, and John William, our three year old who is named after both of our fathers, wriggles in between Peeta and me. We stay like that, just the three of us, until Peeta says he needs to get ready for the day. He leaves to take a quick shower, and I turn my attention to Jack, our nickname for him.

"Jack, do you want to help me in the woods today?" I ask, thinking about Primrose and Peeta going to the bakery. I know he's only three, but I'm thinking about taking him to the lake, the one where I learned how to swim. His face brightens immediately, and he nods his head in delight. I get up off the bed and scoop him up. "First, we need full tummies," I tell him, tickling his stomach. He laughs and I put him down, pulling out some leftovers and preparing breakfast. Rose and Peeta leave for their father-daughter baking day, and Jack and I are left to finish breakfast.

I pull out my game bag and empty its contents, only to refill it with a towel and other essential things for my day in the woods with Jack. Once that's finished, I pull on the closest thing to a bathing suit that I can find and some clothes to cover up. I then do the same for Jack, and with my game bag on one shoulder and him hanging on to my other, we make our way to the lake. After some fifteen minutes, I eagerly lay out the towel and place him on it. He may be only three, but he's still heavy.

"Today, I'm going to show you how to swim," I tell him, and he looks confused but is excited nonetheless. I take his hand and lead him to the shore, where the water feels like a welcome gift in the hot weather. I stop us when the water reaches his stomach halfway. "How does the water feel?" I ask. "Good," he responds as he splashes around. I start off by showing him how to float on the water, and gradually we make progress. By the end of the day, he can swim to the shore and back to me. We'll work on it some more when we get back from the trip. The trip! I completely forgot! I manage to get Jack out of the water after a bit and hastily dash back home. Peeta will begin to worry if we don't get back soon.


	2. Chapter 2

_Here's Chapter Two! My apologies for such a short one. Again, please feel free to leave any comments, as they help me better myself as a writer. Thank you so much for reading, and hopefully I'll get Chapter Three finished soon!_

 **Chapter Two**

 **•Peeta•**

Where are Katniss and Jack? I know they went out today, but shouldn't they be back by now? I try to keep a calm demeanor for Rose's sake, but I know that I'm not doing a very good job. Tomorrow, we are beginning our family trip to District Four to see Mrs. Everdeen, Jack and Primrose's only family besides Katniss and me. Katniss wanted to see Annie Cresta as well, and I insisted we give Johanna Mason a visit, too, along with some others. We're debating about whether to visit Gale, but I don't think Katniss has forgiven him. I doubt she ever will.

It's almost nightfall by the time the two make it through the door. I don't want to upset her, so I settle for an embrace. Jack's asleep, so I take him from her and put him to bed. Primrose soon follows. Once both are asleep, Katniss and I go downstairs; neither of us are ready for sleep just yet. "Peeta," she starts. "I'm sorry, I lost track of time. Jack was having so much fun, and I was too and-" She looks so tired, stressed even. "I know," I reply. "It's okay. I was just so worried." She looks up at me with those breathtaking grey eyes, and I suddenly reach for her, pulling her into an embrace. We stand there for a while, not saying anything.

She breaks the silence by mumbling into my shirt. "I haven't done any packing." I laugh and pull away just enough so that I can look at her face, and I gently sweep the hair off her forehead. "I think I can do that." She smiles gratefully. "Tell me about your day with Rose," she asks me, but I shake my head. "Tomorrow," I reply, lifting her up off of the ground and carrying her up the stairs. Gingerly, I lay her in bed, and get up. "Come back soon," she says weakly, but I can tell she's exhausted.

I begin the packing process, getting my suitcase finished and then moving on to Rose's, and finally Jack's. I'm not quite sure what Katniss plans on bringing, so I decide to pull out a few things, but I leave them outside of the suitcase. She can finish tomorrow before we leave. I look up at the clock and sigh. It's nearly midnight.


	3. Chapter 3

_Here's Chapter Three! I just wanted to thank you for the three lovely reviews; they were really encouraging! I also wanted to thank you for the Enobaria idea, and I think it's fantastic! I'll be sure to add her in!_

 **Chapter 3**

 **•** **Katniss•**

I'm back in the Capitol, right infront of Snow's Mansion. I see the flash of blonde braids through the swarm of medics. I call out for her, and she turns. There's fear in her eyes. "Prim!" I scream. "Prim!" I'm too late. Flames engulf her body and she's gone. My little sister is gone.

I wake with tears staining my cheeks. Turning, I realize Peeta's not here. Peeta. I scream for him. Why isn't he here? Where is he? Instantly, his figure appears in the doorway, rushing to my side, taking me into his arms. "Shh. It's okay. It's okay, Katniss. You're safe now. I'm here." His words calm me, but I'm still shaking. "It was Prim," I say. He immediately understands and says nothing. "Why weren't you here? Why didn't you come to bed?" I feel angry now. He knows I can't sleep without him by my side. "I was packing. For our trip tomorrow," he says calmly. Right. I completely forgot. "It took a bit longer than expected, but I'm done now. We can worry about it tomorrow," he elaborates. I make a mental note to thank him tomorrow. I feel bad for being so rude, but I'm too tired to worry about it. Falling into a deep sleep, I feel safe, knowing he is right there by my side.

 **•** **Peeta•**

I wake up early to make some breakfast. I begin making some cheese buns, Katniss's favorite, and I'm focusing so hard on kneading the dough that I don't even notice when Rose enters the room. "Is mommy okay?" she asks, and I'm not sure what she's talking about until I remember last night. Rose, even though she's only five, understands what Katniss and I had gone through when we were younger, as well as our infrequent but intense nightmares. "Yes, Rosie, she's okay," I answer in a soft voice. I find it very sweet how she's so protective of us, even at such a young age.

Yesterday at the bakery, she was a big help. I taught her how to knead dough, just like my father did when I was her age. A tear had rolled down my cheek as I watched her make a mess with the flour, managing to get herself a white face and even getting some on me. I had smiled, remembering that I used to do the same thing. Later that day, I had showed her how to frost cupcakes, which I think was her favorite part. I saved the lesson on how to put things in the oven for another day.

Primrose tugs at my pant leg, and I pull up a stool for her to sit on. Helping her to the top, I cannot help but let a smile spread across my lips. I have a daughter. She's here, right now. She's helping me to do one of my most favorite things, baking. And I have a son, who, when he's older, will help me with this as well. I could not be happier, knowing that this was possible because of the one person who lights up my life. Mrs. Katniss Everdeen Mellark.


	4. Chapter 4

_Okay, so I decided to post two chapters today! I took the advice of one review to try to make the chapters longer, so thank you for that!_

 _I will be gone on a trip until Friday, so while I will continue to work on the story, I don't think I'll be able to post any more chapters. I might post one final chapter tomorrow before I leave._

 _Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy! -Phily_

 **Chapter Four**

 **•** **Katniss•**

I wake up and immediately get out of bed, the smell of cheesy buns wafting through the house and smelling strongest in the kitchen. "Good morning," I say happily as I kiss Primrose and Jack on the top of their heads. I walk straight to where Peeta is standing, and I give him a quick kiss. "Good morning," I say to him, and in response he envelops me in his strong, steady arms. "Good morning, Mrs. Mellark," he whispers in my ear, and I can hear the smile in his voice.

I don't want to let go, but eventually I have to eat and then go straight to packing. Over breakfast, Peeta tells me about his day in the bakery with Rose, and I share my day with Jack. Of course, the kids have their input as well. Once finished, I trudge up to the bedroom to begin the wary task of packing, but I am immediately surprised to find that Peeta has done almost all of it for me. I finish up my suitcase, and bring it downstairs to put with the rest of the family's.

The kids go into Rose's room to have some downtime after they've bathed, and I find that I have some time alone with Peeta. "Thank you. For everything," I say, thinking of all the little things he's done since last night. "You're welcome," he replies with a hint of something in his blue eyes. We enjoy our time alone together until it's time to leave.

"Grab your backpack, sweetie," I say to Jack, exasperated. Peeta's gone over to Haymitch's house with directions on what to do with Buttercup while we're gone and to say goodbye, while I have to get everyone out of the house in one piece. Primrose has already fallen and scraped her knee, and Jack has certainly been in better moods. After a painstaking twenty minutes, I'm able to carry out our suitcases and everyone else. Peeta returns, and I gratefully hand Jack to him along with one of the suitcases. I pick up two and Rose decides that she wants to be responsible for her own, which is fine by me.

 **•** **Peeta•**

As a family, minus Buttercup, we walk to the train station and arrive just in time. The train car is exactly like the one that brought Katniss and me to the Captiol for the Hunger Games, as well as the one carrying us around on the Victory Tour, but the interior is somewhat different. It has a muted version of the old Capitol flamboyancy, and I take note of the mahagony tables, thinking of Effie Trinket. The train also moves at a swift speed, but, like the old one, I cannot feel it.

We head straight to our room, and I have a flashback of one night in Katniss's room on the Victory Tour. She's screaming, her nightmares filling her head with the horrors of the arena. "Peeta, will you stay with me?"

It lasts for only a second, and my mind is then brought back to the present. I place Jack on the ground and put his suitcase in the adjoining room. Katniss walks in with Primrose, and she places our two suitcases in the first room. I watch as Rose dashes into the room she'll share with Jack, and I turn to face Katniss. "Just like the on the Victory Tour," I comment. She looks at me in confusion, then registers what I said. "Yes," Katniss agrees, but says nothing more.

We both put Primrose and Jack down for naps, and Katniss and I decide to explore the train a bit. Katniss takes my hand and entwines it in her own. Hand in hand, we make our way through each train car, and before long we find ourselves in the last one. She's pulling me towards the circular sofa, and the next thing I know she's kissing me. She starts at my forehead, moving across my face until she reaches my lips. She wraps her arms around the back of my neck and I pull her close. It's not a hungry kiss, but rather a soft one. I run my hands through her thick, brown hair, but untangle them soon after. I pull away enough to look into her grey eyes. She cups my face in her hands, and gives me one final kiss. "I love you, Peeta," she says, and I feel my heart skip a beat. They're simple words, but from her they mean everything. "I love you, Katniss. Always," I reply, bringing her back into an embrace. It only lasts a minute though, because we both remember our sleeping children. We need to be back when they wake up. Hand in hand once again, Katniss and I make our way back to our room.

"Peeta! Katniss!" I hear a familiar voice exclaim. It's Delly Cartwright, my old childhood friend. We used to make chalk murals on the sidewalk, and sometimes we'd play in the old Mellark Bakery, forming little dough boys and girls from the excess materials. Delly was an essential person in trying to get me back to my real self, rather than the shattered, hijacked person Snow had turned me into. I feel lucky to know a person like her.

Putting on my warmest smile, I give my friend a quick hug. "It's so good to see you Delly! What a surprise we're on the same train!" Katniss gives her a hug as well, and the three of us engage in light conversation. The topic of children comes up, and Delly explains that she has a four year old son. We make plans to have them meet tomorrow, and we exchange goodbyes.

 **•** **Katniss•**

Peeta heads back to the room, but I hold back and wander down the other hallway, the one Peeta and I didn't walk down. When I see there's nothing but bedrooms, I turn to go back when suddenly I'm grabbed from behind. At first I think it's Peeta, but our embraces are never so forceful or restraining. I feel very uncomfortable, and I can't get out of the person's grip. "It's been a long time, Catnip." Only one person calls me that, except, he isn't allowed to do so anymore. I turn around sharply, and I elbow him in the stomach, taking him by surprise.

"Don't touch me," I spit, my voice rising. "And don't you dare call me 'Catnip'!" Gale is an unshaven mess, and it looks like he's had one too many drinks today. His eyes are bloodshot, and he looks unsteady. Before I can even blink he kisses me, hard. I'm taken completely off guard, and I instinctively kick him in the groin. He falls, his form now in a crouched position against the wall. I turn without a second thought, before he can see the tears rolling down my face.

When I finally make it back to the room, I find Rose and Jack ganging up on Peeta in a tickle fight. He raises his head, as if beckoning me to join, but then frowns. He knows something's wrong. "I'll be right back guys," he says. "Come on Dad!" they try to argue, but he repeats himself and starts walking towards me.


End file.
